COVER N.153 - CHINA

Postmark: 22.07.2022
Posted on 22 July; received on the 17th August 2022
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I have written here before of how glad I am every time I receive one of these classic air mail envelopes with their red white and blue striped borders. I have also written about of how I like to see an elegant handwriting, the more so since my own is nothing less than awful. So this beautiful and carefully composed cover reunites the best of three worlds: a classic air mail envelope; addressed in a beautiful handwriting and a full set of interesting stamps plus an extra... Excellent. Thank you so much Xu!

The silk road network stretched from China to Europe allowing commerce to flow between these so far off extremities until the 15th century, when the Ottoman  empire ceased trading with the West. By then, though,  a new route had been opened,  through the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, one of the great sea faring feats of the Portuguese.

Along the 6,400 Km of the road, many were (and still are) the places of wonder that are nowadays source for countless documentaries and travel magazine articles but as usual, increased wealth such as the road would generate along its way, through trade, would generate  artefacts since they are essential to all activities and  some of them rather than having a functional nature would be but clear indicators of the  wealth of their possessors.

China Post, on 12JUN2021 issued the set of  four 1,20 stamps dedicated to Cultural treasures of the silk road that Xu used on my cover and they depict 4 such artefacts. Left to right: a celadon plate with chrysanthemum pattern from the Song Dynasty; a silver container of the Han dynasty; a celadon jug with date palm design from the  Tang Dynasty, and a  glazed  vase, of the five Dynasty era.

The last stamp on my cover was issued on 03DEC2008 and as far as I could understand from Stampworld catalogue and Colnet, is a stamp dedicated to Calligraphy and is entitled "Harmony”. The original stamp contains a se-tenant label that is missing from the stamp om the cover, with what I presume is the writing for "Harmony" in Mandarin.